KAGWEL, KENYA — Rhoda Ongoche Akech stepped into a fishing boat on Lake Victoria in 2002, defying a local taboo in Kagwel village that had reserved fishing for men for generations. She enlisted two young men to assist her as she learned the trade, and community members eventually stopped opposing her presence on the water after concluding she intended only to fish.

Before taking up fishing, Akech had worked as a fishmonger in Kagwel for decades. By 2001, her income had become unsustainable because of the cost of buying fish from fishermen and expenses for firewood, frying oil and transport to markets. That same year, women from Homabay County traveled to Kagwel and began fishing on Lake Victoria.

Some community members had believed that women accompanying men in fishing boats would engage in sexual intercourse. According to William Okedo, the community also believed women entering Lake Victoria during menstruation would scare away fish and cause losses, and male fishermen were forbidden from having sexual relations with their wives the night before fishing expeditions.

In 2018, Faith Awuor Ang'awo, a 37-year-old mother of four who had worked as a fishmonger at Luanda market, joined Akech on the lake after her husband, who initially opposed her fishing, relented. In 2020, Dorcas Awiyo, a 22-year-old mother of three and former housewife, joined the team after her husband similarly dropped his resistance. In 2022, Janet Ndweyi, a 42-year-old mother of two, joined the fishing team without facing any community resistance.

On productive days at Kagwel Beach, boat owners can earn between 6,000 and 8,000 Kenyan shillings, crew members between 500 and 800 shillings, and fish traders up to 1,000 shillings, according to Wilson Onjolo. Women previously earned about 500 shillings per day as fishmongers purchasing fish from male fishermen.

"We have women who own boats and women traders, but they are not involved in night fishing or as boat crew members," said Susan Claire, acting director of fisheries and blue economy for Kisumu County. According to Claire, women fishing on Lake Victoria are not officially recognized as boat crew members or night fishermen.

Chris Mutai, senior meteorologist at the Kisumu meteorological station, attributes declining fish populations in Lake Victoria to climate change impacts on the lake's ecosystem. Rising water temperatures have encouraged algae growth and reduced oxygen levels, directly affecting fish populations. Mutai warned that water temperatures are expected to rise by an additional 0.5C over the next 10 to 20 years, reaching between 29.5C and 31C. "To reverse this, people should keep off riparian land to allow undergrowth that will serve as the breeding ground of fish, and avoid pollution of the lake that traps more heat than plain, clear water," Mutai said.

Lake Victoria supports more than 42 million people who depend on it for food, employment and drinking water. The lake faces pressures from overfishing, pollution, invasive species and climate change that have reduced per capita catch rates despite annual harvests of about one million tonnes.